The present invention relates generally to tracking systems and methods, and more specifically, to a tracking system and method that provides for three-dimensional a posteriori tracking including spatial and spectral tracking.
With the current proliferation of array processors, multi-processors, and parallel programming, sonar data is beginning to overwhelm sonar data processors in the functional area of spatial processing (track linking and management across beams and other arrays of sensors). With this in mind, it would be desirable to apply a traditional data processing application (logic and decision making) to the area of array and multi-processor applications (vector arithmetic or number crunching).
A two-dimensional a posteriori concept is disclosed in an article entitled "Detection and Estimation of Frequency Random Signal," by R. D. Short and J. P. Toomey, in IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. IT-28, No. 6, November, 1982. The present invention expands on the capability of this processing concept by extending processing to three dimensions.
In a current system developed by the assignee of the present invention, the computation used to spatially cluster lines detected by multiple beams is accomplished by a general purpose computer. This is because the spatial clustering or association process primarily involves logical operations, hence is more suitable for general purpose computer implementation. This architectural design approach, however, results in a sub-optimum utilization of processing resources when three-dimensional processing is required. This is particularly true since an additional level of linking and association is required in order to maintain target track from node to node (an array of sensors) in the three-dimensional system.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to take advantage of the processing power available in an array processor by extending a two dimensional Short and Toomey processing procedure to three dimensions to provide for both spatial and frequency tracking.